Beef: Turn Corn Stover
to Low Cost Pasture

Corn stover can provide a low cost feed source for mid-gestation
beef cows. The energy in a cornfield is half in the grain and half
in the stover or plant material. Once the crop is harvested, half
the feed energy remains in the field. The cows can enjoy an additional
benefit by gleaning the kernels and small cobs that passed through
the combine.

Most fields will provide between one and two months of grazing
per cow per acre (50 cows on 50 acres for one to two months). However,
cows should be monitored closely and body condition scores recorded,
so that necessary supplementation can take place when required.

The feed value of the stalks will drop from harvest date, so the
earlier in the season you can graze, the better. Initially the Total
Digestible Nutrients (TDN) value could be as high as 70 percent,
but as the winter progresses this value will drop down into the
40 percent range. This decline is partly due to the weathering of
the leaves and stalks and partly due to the cows eating high-value
grain and leaves early in the grazing, leaving lower-value stalk
material for later grazing.

Check the field for available grain - both kernels on the ground
and small cobs missed by the combine. If there is a significant
quantity, you may need to limit access so that the cows don't overload
on grain. Use temporary electric fence to strip-graze the field
or restrict the grazing time to a few hours during the day. The
cows will tend to eat the grain first, then the husks and leaves
and lastly the stalks. Control the size of the grazing area to help
keep the energy level of the cows' diet more uniform during the
grazing period. Once the leaves and husks have been consumed, you
may have to supplement with good quality hay. Monitor the manure
for any visible signs of grain. If no grain is present in the manure,
it's time to start supplementing. A 1300 pound cow will require
about six pounds of good quality hay to meet her protein needs at
this time.

Ensure that salt and mineral is freely available at all times.
Provide an accessible source of water, since cows will consume about
10 gallons of water per head per day, under cool conditions. Later
in the season, lean fluffy snow can serve as an optional source
of water.

Soil condition is also an important consideration for grazing corn
stover. If the ground is wet, there will be some pugging and roughening
of the soil surface. In a no-till cropping system, you might consider
waiting until the ground is frozen or selecting the driest fields
with a low clay content to graze. Any fall damage to soil structure
will be at least partially rectified by the freeze-thaw action over
the winter. Damage in the spring will have a more significant impact
on the season's crop. The feed value of the stalks will be higher
in the fall than in the late winter or spring. It will be to your
benefit to graze the stalks during the fall and early winter and
remove the cows from the field before spring thaw conditions start.
By managing the stover field as a pasture field (controlling the
area being grazed and staying off it when soil conditions are wet)
a producer can have the best of both the feed and crop worlds.

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